S. agalactiae
S. aureus
Staphylococcus aureus
cocci arranged in clusters; colorenhanced scanning electron
micrograph; average cell
diameter is about 1 mm.
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Vibrio
Vibrios most closely resemble rods, as they are
comma-shaped
spirilla
Spiral-shaped procaryotes can be either
classified as spirilla, which usually have
tufts of flagella at one or both ends of
the cell, or spirochetes
Spiroplasma
Spirochetes
Spirochetes are more flexible and have a
unique, internal flagellar arrangement.
pleomorphic
some procaryotes are variable in shape and
lack a single, characteristic form.
Actinomycetes
Actinomycetes typically form long filaments
called hyphae that may branch to produce a
network called a mycelium
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
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Cytoskeleton
Ribosomes
Ribosomes are very complex structures made of
both protein and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
They are the site of protein synthesis
Procaryotic ribosomes are smaller than the
cytoplasmic or endoplasmic reticulum-associated
ribosomes of eucaryotic cells.
Procaryotic ribosomes are called 70S ribosomes
(as opposed to 80S in eucaryotes), have
dimensions of about 14 to 15 nm by 20 nm, a
molecular weight of approximately 2.7 million,
and are constructed of a 50S and a 30S subunit
Ribosomes
Procaryotic Ribosome.
The two subunits of a bacterial
ribosome are shown.
The 50S subunit includes 23S rRNA
(gray) and 5S rRNA (light blue), while
16S rRNA (cyan) is found in the 30S
subunit.
A molecule of tRNA (gold) is shown in
the A site.
To generate this ribbon diagram, crystals
of purified bacterial ribosomes were
grown, exposed to X rays, and the
resulting diffraction pattern analyzed
30S subunit
Nucleoid
The procaryotic chromosome is located in an
irregularly shaped region called the nucleoid
50S subunit
Nucleoid
Chemical analysis of purified
nucleoids reveals that they are
composed of about 60% DNA, 30%
RNA, and 10% protein by weight.
In Escherichia coli, the closed DNA
circle measures approximately 1,400
mm or about 230700 times longer
than the cell
Plasmids
Many procaryotes (and some yeasts and other
fungi) contain extrachromosomal DNA
molecules called plasmids.
Plasmids play many important roles in the
lives of the organisms that have them.
They also have proved invaluable to
microbiologists and molecular geneticists in
constructing and transferring new genetic
combinations and in cloning genes,
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Plasmids
Plasmids are small, double-stranded DNA
molecules that can exist independently of the
chromosome.
Both circular and linear plasmids have been
documented, but most known plasmids are
circular.
Plasmids are able to replicate autonomously
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Flagella
Most motile procaryotes move by use of flagella
(s., flagellum)
Monotrichous bacteria (trichous means hair)
have one flagellum; if it is located at an end, it is
said to be a polar flagellum
Amphitrichous bacteria (amphi means on both
sides) have a single flagellum at each pole.
lophotrichous bacteria (lopho means tuft) have
a cluster of flagella at one or both ends
Flagella are spread fairly evenly over the whole
surface of peritrichous (peri means around)
bacteria
Filament
Filament
Hook
Hook
Pseudomonasmonotrichous polar
flagellation
Spirillumlophotrichous flagellation
L ring
P ring
S ring
P. vulgarisperitrichous flagellation
M ring
gram-negative
gram-positive
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endospore.
A number of gram-positive bacteria can form a
special resistant, dormant structure called an
endospore.
Endospores develop within vegetative bacterial
cells of several genera: Bacillus and Clostridium
(rods), Sporosarcina (cocci), and others.
These structures are extraordinarily resistant to
environmental stresses such as heat, ultraviolet
radiation, gamma radiation, chemical
disinfectants, and desiccation
Ribosomes
Nucleoid
Core wall
Cortex
Spore coat
Exosporium
Central
Subterminal
Swollen
sporangium
Terminal